Joint Contribution of Experiencing and Witnessing Violence During Childhood on Child Abuse in the Parent Role

• NCJ Number: 205234
• Journal: Violence and Victims Volume: 18 Issue: 6 Dated: December 2003 Pages: 619-639
• Author(s): Susan M. Cunningham
• Date Published: December 2003
• Length: 21 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined adult respondents’ abuse of children as a consequence of both their own direct experience of childhood violence and witnessing interparental violence.

Abstract

It has been well-documented that family violence has both short- and long-term deleterious effects on children. Previous studies have reported on the consequences of physical child abuse and witnessing interpersonal violence. The current study examined both of these forms of child maltreatment from a different perspective by focusing on the extent to which these two phenomena, physical child abuse and witnessing interparental violence, function interactively to increase the probability of parental abuse of children. Data were drawn from the Second National Family Violence Survey conducted by Gelles and Straus in 1985. Participants were 2,889 individuals interviewed by telephone regarding their experiences of family violence. Only those respondents reporting at least one child in the household were included in the current analysis. Control variables included race, gender, family income, and family structure. Results of logistic regression analysis indicated that either or both child maltreatment factors produced increased and relatively similar rates of child abuse. Thus, respondents who were either physically abused, witnessed violence, or both, had higher than average and similar rates of abusing their own children. Only respondents who experienced neither form of child maltreatment reported lower than average rates of parental abuse of children. Concerning the control variables, only race produced a main effect on child abuse, with minority parents reporting higher rates of parental abuse of children. Future research should clarify the role of race in child abuse. Limitations of the current study include its reliance on self-report data and data concerning past year violence rather than lifetime violence. Figures, tables, notes